PM Modi: Vaccine supply set for big boost, states to get schedule

“Chunauti badi hai lekin hamaara hausla usse bhi bada hai, aur hamara response – na bhuton na bhavishyati – aisa hona hi chahiye. Isi hausle aur sankalp ke saath, isi irade or sankalp ke saath hum desh ko is sankat se bahar nikalenge (The challenge is big, but our morale is even bigger, and our response should be unprecedented. With this courage and resolve, with this intention and resolve, we will take the country out of this crisis),” Modi added.

Stressing on the need for individual districts to take steps to deal with the pandemic, the PM said they need to pay attention to rural and inaccessible areas. “Each district has its own challenges. You understand the challenges of your district in a much better way. Therefore, when your district wins, it means the country wins. When your district beats corona, the country defeats corona,” he said.

Saying the “fight is to save every single life”, the Prime Minister described state- and district-level officials as “field commanders” in the “war” against the Covid-19 pandemic and listed out the “weapons” they need to deploy against the virus: local containment zones, aggressive testing and ensuring that people have correct and complete information.

“Our responsibility is to stop the spread of the infection and this is only possible when we have accurate information on the scale of infections. There is a need to constantly emphasise testing, tracking, isolation, treatment and Covid-appropriate behaviour,” Modi said.

On Monday, the total number of active Covid-19 cases in the country stood at 33,53,765. According to the Health Ministry data, all states and Union Territories except Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu and Tripura have registered a decline in active Covid-19 cases. However, the number of Covid-19 deaths have increased across the country.

On vaccination, the PM said continuous efforts were being made to increase the supply of Covid-19 vaccines on a “very large scale” and that the Health Ministry is streamlining the system.

“Attempts are being made to give states a schedule of the next 15 days so that you know how many people are going to get vaccines in the district,” the Prime Minister said, while stressing on the need to stop vaccine wastage.

The meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan, chief ministers of various states, including Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal. NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and other senior officials were also present.